Recycling and Disposal Fees

Electronics | Smoke Detectors | Lightbulbs | Batteries | Tires | Miscellaneous

ELECTRONICS

Very small quantities of General Electronics will be accepted on a donation basis.

  • We can accept almost any item that requires electricity (battery or plug-in) to work. 

    Household appliances: vacuum cleaners (please empty the canister or remove the bag before bringing it to us), blenders, microwaves, garbage disposals, flashlights, electronic toys, electric motors, Carbon Monoxide (CO) Detectors, etc.

    Computers and peripherals: CPUs, hard drives, circuit boards, keyboards, mice, printers, scanners, Fax machines, digital cameras, etc.

    AV Equipment: stereo equipment, DVD and CD players, VCRs, record players, video game equipment, satellite equipment, etc.

    Mobile devices: cell phones, laptops, tablets, e-readers, MP3 players, wearable devices, chargers, etc.

    Wires: Extension cords, cables, cat5, coaxial, romex, chargers, adapters, etc.

    • For items with a removable battery (except for cellphones and laptops), please remove battery and leave the battery cover off. We can recycle both the battery and the cover, but leaving the cover off makes it easier to see the batteries have been removed. We cannot take any items that are biohazards, or household hazardous waste (for example: paint, pesticides, propane gas canisters, or lighters). Gas powered equipment is accepted as scrap metal (no charge) as long as all fluids have been drained. See Hamilton County Resource website and/or Environmental Enterprises for other disposal options.

  • All types of televisions including CRTs (Cathode Ray Tube “Boxes”) and 30” or larger Flatscreen displays. Displays that are 80 inches or larger or more than 75 lbs. are subject to the additional Extra Large or Unusual item handling fee of $15.

  • Any Cathode Ray Tube display including “old fashioned” computer monitors

  • Flatscreen Monitors sized for desktop computer use.

  • Dehumidifiers, window AC units, mini-fridge, or mini-freezers, etc.

  • Full sized refrigerators or freezers, etc

  • Stoves, ranges, dishwashers, washers, dryers, etc.

  • Cartridges ("Carts") not accepted.

  • Including electric toothbrushes, razors, and battery operated vacuums. Please empty all canisters or bags and discard paper filters.

  • Uninterrupted Power Supplies or “battery backups”. Fee will be waived if the battery has been removed.

  • Depending on the exact makeup of the equipment, we may not be able to recycle all of the components.

  • This fee is charged at our discretion in addition to other applicable fees. Typically this fee is charged for items larger than a standard pallet.

SMOKE DETECTORS

Please leave smoke detectors intact and separate from other fee items. Combination Smoke and Carbon Monoxide (CO) detectors are included in this collection. Non-combination Carbon Monoxide detectors are collected as General Electronics.

  • Photoelectric smoke detectors must be clearly labeled. If they are not labeled, they will be charged as ionization.

  • This fee is based on the cost of properly recycling the radioactive components in ionization smoke detectors.

LIGHTBULBS

Please take bulbs out of fixtures and packaging. Separating them by type is a helpful bonus.

  • Incandescent, CFL ("spirals"), LED, Fluorescent, or Halogen Bulbs, and Fluorescent Tubes 4 ft or less, O-ring and U-bend Tubes.

  • "Traditional” threaded (screw in) bulbs from holiday string lights and similar sized "miniature" bulbs.

  • Fluorescent Tubes over 4 ft in length, Car Headlight Bulbs, and High-Intensity Discharge Bulbs (HID-Sodium, MetalHalide, or Mercury).

  • Blacklight/UV, Terrarium heat bulbs, Projector Lamps from slide projectors, and LCD Lamp (from inside LCD Flatscreen TVs). We can accept Projector Lamps in their cases.

  • This is the fee for an intact fixture. Feel free to deconstruct the fixture and bring us the wire, metal, and ballasts for recycling at reduced fees. We cannot accept PBC ballasts, and therefore you must remain on site until we can verify that the ballast in a fluorescent tube fixture does not contain PCBs.

  • For safety, please place broken bulbs into a metal or plastic container separately from other bulbs or debris.

  • "Black box" from a fluorescent tube fixture. Ballast must have a "No PCBs" label. PCB Ballasts are Hazardous Waste and we cannot accept them.

BATTERIES

● Sorting (between lithium and non-lithium) is appreciated but not necessary.

● Taping is not necessary, but if done, please use clear packing tape. Please don’t use Scotch tape or masking tape since they are not electrical insulators.

● We cannot accept car or industrial batteries (vented lead acid) due to safety concerns regarding leaking.

● We can accept damaged lithium batteries and alkaline batteries that are corroded. Please bring damaged lithium batteries (“puffy pillows”, swollen, leaking, burn marks, or cracked) in a separate container.

  • Alkaline, Nickel cadmium (Ni-Cd or Ni-Cad), Nickel metal hydride (Ni-MH), Carbon, Zinc-carbon or Carbon-zinc (ZnC or CZn), or Button cell batteries (mix of battery types).

  • Please leave cell phone and laptop batteries installed.

  • These batteries are relatively large and heavy and commonly used in powered mobility devices or backup power systems (UPS). They are distinguishable from car (vented) lead acid batteries in that they lack a vent and a spill warning label.

TIRES

It is illegal to transport more than 10 tires at a time in Ohio without a permit.

  • Item description

MISCELLANEOUS

Any and all sorting, especially of media is appreciated.

  • VHS, Beta, 8-track, cassette tapes, Reel-to-Reel, floppy disks (5.25” and 3.5”), CDs, DVDs and all types of e-media cases. Commercial Media in SEALED original packaging may be accepted for reuse. Please take all used items out of their packaging (boxes, bags, etc.) and out of their cases, recycle all paper and cardboard with your curbside recycling and bring us the electronic media and cases.

  • For unused cartridges, please leave them in their packaging, so we can put them on our reuse shelves. For used cartridges, please remove from packaging and consolidate the cartridges into larger bags (to limit ink leakage). Please recycle original cardboard and paper packaging with your curbside recycling, and bring the cartridges and plastic packaging to us.

  • We appreciate it if you can remove all cushions, covers, and straps before bringing the seat to us, but we understand the difficulty in that deconstruction and will accept intact carseats for a higher fee. Given safety concerns, all carseats we accept are recycled.

  • Please remove all cushions, covers, and straps from the carseat. You may have to cut the straps to disconnect them from the carseat. We can accept the straps and the plastic, metal, and combination plastic-metal pieces of the buckle for recycling. Styrofoam padding can be left on the carseat; or we can recycle it separately if it becomes detached. Please discard the fabric and polyurethane cushioning. Given safety concerns, all carseats we accept are recycled.

  • We except only non-commercial (non-refillable)helium tanks. All tanks MUST have an obvious hole visibly completely venting the tank. Click here for a link to video instructions.

GENERAL NOTES

● Like all items accepted at Cincinnati Recycling & Reuse Hub, Fee based items must be clean and dry.

● While we have attempted to make this price list as comprehensive as possible, we reserve the right to accept or not accept items and to evaluate items and charge fees on a discretionary basis.

● Cash payments are preferred to save costs on transaction fees.

● We may be able to recycle items not listed on this fee guide. Please email pictures and questions to our E-Waste Plus team at ewasteplus@cintirrh.org

● We guarantee that all items that we accept will be reused or recycled.

● Our Tinker Team has a limited capacity to assess and repair items so cannot guarantee if an individual item will be recycled or reused. Refreshed items are offered for reuse at no charge to select organizations that serve the public good, like New Life Furniture Bank or Catholic Charities of Southwest Ohio’s refugee resettlement project. Items that are salvaged and refurbished by the Tinker Team are being tagged with Cincinnati Recycling & Reuse Hub’s information to promote eventual end of life recycling at no cost to the recipients. In order to provide end of life recycling for any reused item, fees will be charged on all items regardless of condition.

●While it's always a good idea to remove your personal data from any electronics before recycling, we are able to accept items containing data. We store electronics onsite before sending them to downstream recycling partners who guarantee data destruction by either physical or digital means. We generally do not provide certificates of data destruction, but while we we are not a licensed data destruction company, we may be able to do so in special circumstances.

Have more questions?

Still have some questions about our fee-based items? Contact our E-Waste Plus team by email at ewasteplus@cintirrh.org.